EXCLUSIVE: Thierry Frémaux Says No Leak At Cannes Film Festival; “It's All Lies”

EXCLUSIVE: Yesterday a French blog released a list of what it contended was the official Cannes selection for 2012. The blog said the list had been briefly published on the official Cannes Film Festival website before hastily being pulled down. A number of other sites have picked up the list, but Deadline will not. This was an April Fools joke, and not a very funny one. I spoke to Cannes general delegate and artistic director Thierry Frémaux this morning who tells me “There was no internet leak.” Indeed, it would be impossible for the list to leak given it’s not completed and, as Frémaux says, “The selection is in my head.” He further tells me, “This is all lies and it’s disgusting to play with such a thing. Cannes is an institution and must be preserved. There is a code of conduct for Cannes and it must be respected. Those who don’t respect the code, will never come back to Cannes.” Wild Bunch’s Vincent Maraval put the list down to an irresponsible prank telling me that some of his own films that appeared on the list have not even been seen by Frémaux. There were a couple of titles on the list that have been the source of wide speculation, but the official Cannes press conference takes place on April 19 and Frémaux and his team will be screening films and honing their selection until the very last minute. End of story.